Legalize or decriminalize? While I abhor the actions the police took in this instance, this guy's neighbors have a right to NOT have a drug dealer who's dealing drugs from his home, living next to them. I would suspect that even after either legalization or decriminalization, selling drugs out of your home, will still not be allowable, nor should it be.
I think a model that is similar to what many states had post-prohibition, would probably work best. State stores selling marijuana collecting the appropriate taxes. And, I would be ALL FOR substantive taxes because there is an undeniable social cost for marijuana. If you want to grow your own, fine. But only enough for your personal consumption, and not to be resold.
The police will always have a duty to protect the community from drug dens. They just need to get a a whole lot smarter with respect to how they enforce those prohibitions. Busting down the door and shooting the family dogs, is not the smart way to go about it.
Alcohol is legal and I don’t have to worry about my neighbors still.
Without the current prohibition, there would be no need for these idiots to run a “drug den” out of their homes.